Battle against family violence unending

Published 6:00 pm, Saturday, January 24, 2004

Sarah Green of Willis has been in the bout of her life for the past 13 years, always believing she could look back and see justice and law enforcement in her corner.

But the 32-year-old mother of two, who is still being victimized, said she's often left in a ring of violence to spar with an ex-husband by herself.

Green believes she has been let down by law officers who've grown weary of coming to her home and judges who want to give her assailant a second chance.

Yet, local law enforcement and judicial officials say family violence is not treated with any less regard than other crime.

In fact, officials say, more attention, training and education has been pushed specifically in this direction to give victims some legal cushion against the physical, emotional and financial blows.

"Over the last few years, I have seen that judges are a lot more understanding of how the process works … why these men do what they do and why the women stay," said 359th District Court Judge Kathleen Hamilton, who is regarded as an expert in family violence around the state and nation.

Hamilton, who once served as the attorney for the Montgomery County Women's Center and has worked in family violence for the past 17 years, said all district judges must undergo at least six hours of mandatory training to learn how to handle such cases.

In addition to paperwork, judges must have an understanding of the dynamics between the abuser and the victim who appear before them, Hamilton said.

"For a judge who does not understand a family violence situation, it may be easy to think that the woman doesn't care when she doesn't want to prosecute or when she doesn't show up for a court date," Hamilton said.

But through Hamilton's years of researching and reporting on family violence, she has identified why many women back out at the 11th hour or act contrary to what is deemed best — leaving their abuser.

According to the Uniform Crime Reports, one of the leading indicators of a deadly relationship is the recent separation of the abuser and the victim.

The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that 75 percent of the domestic assaults reported to law enforcement agencies occur after the victim is divorced or separated from the assailant.

Green, who has been divorced for about five years, said her ex-husband's violent actions and efforts to remain in control only increased after she left.

The financial strain of the also made her unable to hire an attorney for representation in matters related to the abuse.

"It becomes easier to go back to what you are comfortable with," she said.

Green said she remembers one incident when she went before a visiting judge in Montgomery County to get a protective order against her husband.

"But the judge wanted to cut him some slack," she said. "He ex-husband) looks very respectable, as if he is an upstanding citizen."

However, local law enforcement officers agree that you can't spot a batterer in a crowd.

"We have arrested everybody, from the doctors and lawyers to the ditch diggers," Conroe Police Sgt. Bob Berry said.

"You see family violence in every category possible,"

said 9th District Court Judge Fred Edwards, who handles a large number of juvenile cases. He does not make a habit of "cutting slack" and takes his cases very seriously.

One of Edwards' duties is to grant protective orders in family violence situations.

But there are times he will receive a call from a victim who wants to revoke that order for financial or emotional reasons.

"… We'll get a call saying 'we miss him' or 'we need him at home working,'" Edwards said. "It's often a very tough call."

Before such a revocation is approved, Edwards said, he will review the information and the history of the case to determine its severity.

He also understands it is important to protect the children first.

"When someone is harmed, the system has to step in," he said. "There have been too many wives murdered and babies killed."

Because Edwards also understands that the healthier the family environment is, the less likely he is to see the children in his court someday, he often issues parental orders that demand parents to take certain actions, such as ceasing abusive behavior.

Not abiding by the parental order can land them in jail.

"I can't expect the child to behave a certain way if the parent is not going to."

Because the visiting judge in Green's case decided to give her husband another chance, Green relies on constantly calling the police department when she feels threatened of more abusive activity.

To the benefit of Green and others in her situation, law officers also have received an increased amount of training in family violence situations.

Within the past 10 years, the state of Texas has required more and more mandatory training in response to an increased awareness about domestic violence.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards requires all law officers to complete a minimum of 16 hours of training every four years. Officers learn the dynamics between the batterer and the battered, why the arguments start and why the victim often chooses to not press charges.

Berry advises that one of the officers' first duties when arriving on the scene of a domestic dispute is to ensure that the situation does not escalate beyond control.

"The important thing to remember is to call 9-1-1 if there is an emergency situation," Berry said. "Ask yourself: 'Are you fearful for your life? Are you in immediate danger?' If so, call 9-1-1. If there is no immediate danger, call the business number."

In addition to learning how to deal with the emergency situations, officers strive to provide long-term assistance. Most local city and county law officers supply victims of family violence with victims assistance pamphlets or phone numbers that outline how and where to get help.

"Family violence is a daily occurrence in this county — everywhere in this county," Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Bill Bucks said. "Once family violence starts, it usually progresses. There is a lot of recidivism in this county."

Berry said he agrees that the main objective is the stop the abusive cycle.

"Kids who witness family violence normally grow up to be batterers themselves."

Terry Bailey, a Child Protective Services specialist, said she has the documents to prove it.

"Some (of the abusers) have records that go back to when they were children and were the victims," she said. "(Violence) is how they learned to deal with things, cope with things."

Bailey said approximately 230 new intake cases of child abuse in Montgomery County come through her department each month. The cases include physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as neglect.

Physical abuse is deemed to have occurred if an injury is sustained that lasts more than 24 hours.

"If you spank your child and it leaves a red mark that goes away in 20 minutes, that is not abuse," Bailey said. "It's not against the law to spank your child, it's against the law to beat your child. There is a difference."

More and more officials are understanding the circle of family violence: Spousal abuse is directly linked to child abuse, and child abuse breeds spousal abusers.

Because of this increased awareness, CPS is undergoing a training session through the Women's Center, which works to assist women in spousal abuse situations.

Even after studying family violence for nearly 20 years, Hamilton still believes in families working on problems as a family. But she also doesn't mind intervening, just as other judicial and law officers shouldn't.

"By the time it gets to us, it has probably reached the point where they can't come to a decision on their own," she said.